DC Flies Clooney Skies

Last year the DC Film Critics Association gave Slumdog millions (of prizes). This year they express their desire to fly George Clooney's friendly skies. I'm not here to judge (well not in this particular sentence) as I'm totally in love with Up in the Air, too. But then I just saw it and am still fanning myself from the heat coming off of Clooney & Farmiga. I need a little distance and a cold shower before I commit to any "best!" notions. Thankfully I allow myself that. Most organizations do not. Hence the hasty decision making.

I didn't share their nominees with you yesterday because I found them vaguely embarrassing, like the assembled journos all just came in late and frazzled having left their notes on the Metrorail. Instead of thinking it through they scribbled the names of Oscar buzz du jour types and called it a day. My point is this: I am scared of these people that think The Blind Side is better written than [insert name of a dozen films of high and low profiles here]. The only thing that's making that movie glow is Sandra Bullock's charisma, which even when surprisingly and purposefully buttoned down, is pretty damn shiny. The writers didn't write that. Bullock brings that with her when she reports to work.

Film Up in the Air
Director Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Actress Carey Mulligan, An Education
Actor George Clooney, Up in the Air
Supporting Actress Mo'Nique, Precious
Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Adapted Screenplay Up in the Air
Original Screenplay Inglourious Basterds
Breakthrough Performance Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Animated Film Up
Foreign Film Sin Nombre
Documentary Food, Inc
Art Direction Nine

These awards mostly seem like Oscar winner predictions and as such they're pretty very good... I could see all of that happening or nearly. But you know my feeling about using your awards to predict: Two different things! Two different things that should never be mixed!

Why is this beautiful: set, lighting, or Day-Lewis silhouette? You decide.

And on that note I have to both give and takeaway: I think John Myhre's work on Nine is gorgeous BUT (there's always a but with me. I'm so difficult!) one does have to wonder how many Oscars and other prizes John Myhre can collect simply dressing up theatrical stages (Dreamgirls, Chicago, Nine). I do think his work on Nine trumps his other features including the ones that don't take place on a stage (Elizabeth, Memoirs of a Geisha) [tangent] or aren't supposed to. I definitely think Geisha looks like it takes place on a stage and it shouldn't... I thought it was the least deserving of the nominees that year so of course it won. Here's who shoulda been nominated in 2005 [/tangent] ...but this many prizes for dressing up stages? It seems to me like the cinematographer is the one doing the work when the movie takes place on stage. Am I right or am I missing something? Either is possible.
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Streep Conquers DC

"Come See the Ninth Wonder of the World!"

Meryl Streep, at the spry age of 59, continued her quest to completely conquer the world this weekend with her first Best Actress win of the Oscar Precursor season. It seems Doubtful (hardy-har-har) that she'll be able to scale the heighths of a near precursor sweep --the NBR already raised their glasses to Anne Hathaway "l'chai-im!" But we'll see.

The Washington DC Film Critics Awards go like so...

Picture & Director: Slumdog Millionaire (which they hilariously refer to as an "underdog" in their press release. How long can that film and the media supporting it pretend it's the underdog? That's a sincere question. Answer it.)
Actress (& Ensemble): Doubt. (That's the second ensemble prize for Doubt. God, I hope this isn't going to be a super boring season. Come on other groups. Mix it up. There's lots of fine ensembles... I'll give you some examples: The Class, Rachel Getting Married, Milk, Happy-Go-Lucky, The Dark Knight, Synecdoche New York... see how easy that was. I didn't even need to reference any list)
Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Supporting Actress & Best Original Screenplay: Rosemarie DeWitt and Jenny Lumet both for Rachel Getting Married... hey, I interviewed them
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

their full list of awards here...

Mothers on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Adventures in DC Part 2

This weekend with friends visiting for the holidays we hit a lot of museums (and margaritas. shhhh). My friends are almost to a one culture lovers so museums are often good options. One of the best things we saw was something called The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image (closing this coming weekend, here's a NYT review]. All of the video installations were about the way the motion picture portrays or pretend realism. My favorite piece in the roundup was by Candice Breitz and simply titled Mother (pictured below)


In the supremely well edited six screen extravaganza Faye Dunaway as Mommie Dearest, Susan Sarandon & Julia Roberts from Stepmom, Meryl Streep the ex Mrs. Kramer, Diane Keaton The Good Mother and Shirley Maclaine ...from the Edge have what amounts to a schizophrenic tearful and angry conversation filled with interrupted monologues and asides about being mothers and women. Fused together and separated from the context of their films, Keaton actually rivals Dunaway's camp icon for overacting and Maclaine comes across as the most sane. "I am...[slams piano]... STILL. HERE." This, as you may have guessed, is unsettling. Clearly none of them have been taking their meds. It's very very funny.

Thought provoking too, sure, in its voyeuristic way but I mention the funny because too few people in museums ever laugh. Another piece in the exhibit lampoons the E! True Hollywood Story pretending great typical rise-and-fall fame for Francesco Vezzoli following that nifty Trailer for the Remake of Caligula in which he convinced Gerard Butler, Helen Mirren, Milla Jovovich, Courtney Love and more to star. His E! prank follows all of the beats of those shallow infotainment documentaries so well that anyone who sat next to me in the room didn't get that it was a spoof. (I saw the ending three times -- trying to let friends catch up) and both times when it ended conversations were along the lines of "I have never heard of this guy. He's famous?" or "Did he really die?" Before you think this is a Nathaniel feeling superior moment I assure you it was more along the lines of confusion. The exhibit is called "Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image" and every piece is about how the presented real is never real. I really think misunderstandings arise because people don't expect humor when they go to see "Art". Certainly not humor that pairs Dame Helen Mirren, gay porn, Dietrich, biopic cliché and infotainment specials.

P.S. There was also a companion piece to Mother called Father which featured Dustin Hoffman, Steve Martin, Jon Voight, Tony Danza (!?) and Harvey Keitel but it wasn't as interesting. Men never are. But give me six Hollywood moms on the verge of nervous breakdowns? Bliss.
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Because you've been good museum attendees today, here's a retro treat. It's Shirley Maclaine's house rattling "I'm Still Here" from Postcards from the Edge.



How Maclaine wasn't Oscar nominated for this turn as the Debbie Reynolds-esque mom in this movie is one of the great mysteries of the 1990s.
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